Three Years Later
by Macbeth99
Summary: On the three-year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, different people deal with their memories in different ways. (Harry's point of view.)
1. Luna Lovegood

He found her alone in the guest room, the light off, a stack of photos lit up in her lap by the faint glow of her wand.

"Luna?"

She looked up, and something inside Harry died when he saw her swollen pink face. She wiped at her eye with her sleeve and gave a sad smile. "Hello, Harry."

He sat down on the floor next to her and lifted the photo on top - a picture of Fred and George Weasley, grinning and waving, giving each other donkey's ears. The next was in the girls' dormitory at what looked like a small birthday celebration. Lavender Brown smiled at the camera, her arms around the girls next to her. They were all wearing colorful birthday hats, eating cake and laughing. The third was Colin Creevey behind his camera, and Harry wondered briefly who took it.

"Luna, where'd you even get - never mind." He gently took the pictures out of her hands. "Don't. . . don't look at them, okay? They're making you sad."

She smiled again, her eyes filling with tears that spilled over the edges, and lifted the stack back into her lap. Her voice was tired and hoarse. "Maybe I want to be sad, Harry."

He left the room before he started crying, too.


	2. Ron Weasley

It had been three years since the Battle of Hogwarts.

Three years since the wizarding world had lost so much and gained so much, and Harry still felt the loss burning inside of him every time he looked at one friend and saw the friends who were gone, every time he was at a Weasley family gathering that was missing Weasleys, every time he closed his eyes and saw death.

"You all right, mate?"

Ron nearly collided with him as he went up the stairs and Harry went down them. Harry swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Ron gave his arm an awkward sort of pat. "Right. Well, er, tell me if you - if you need anything, right?"

"Right, thanks, Ron."

"Yeah."

They went their separate ways before it occurred to Harry that he should have returned the offer.


	3. Molly Weasley

Mrs. Weasley was in the Burrow's kitchen. Of course Mrs. Weasley was in the Burrow's kitchen. Harry couldn't think of anywhere else she'd be, especially when she was feeling how she'd no doubt be feeling.

There was a pot cooking on the stove, but the spoon stirring it was sloppy, lazy, as though the caster of the spell hadn't really been into it.

Which she obviously wasn't, Harry thought as he took a second look at Mrs. Weasley. She was seated at the kitchen table, sobbing softly into her hands, a bundle of pink yarn and a half-finished little pink sweater in front of her. It was probably for Victoire. Mrs. Weasley loved making things for Victoire.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley."

She looked up suddenly, startled, and began to dab at her eyes with the edge of her apron. "Oh, Harry, dear, you surprised me there."

"Yeah." He sat down heavily across from her, and she reached across the table and took one of his hands into hers.

"Are you all right, dear?"

He smiled wryly. "I could ask the same for you, Mrs. Weasley."

She squeezed his hand. "But I'm the adult here, Harry."

"You're allowed to. . . I'm not. . . ." Harry felt severely uncomfortable. "He was. . . he was your son."

Her hand froze on his for a moment before she removed it and picked up her knitting importantly. "Yes, well, I suppose he was."

Feeling foolish, Harry stood up. "No, I didn't mean. . . ."

He wasn't sure what he meant or didn't mean. He didn't really know what had gone wrong, just that it had.

"No, it's all right." She put the knitting down and went to the pot on the stove. "If you don't mind, Harry, dear, leaving the kitchen, I've got a lot of work I need to do, you see."

"Of course, Mrs. Weasley."

He left the kitchen, but not before he saw the broken look on her face.


	4. George Weasley

George was in the backyard, pushing his baby son, Fred, in the swing Mr. Weasley had put up.

"Hey, Harry," George called.

"Hey, George."

Harry walked up to George and baby Fred, struck suddenly by the irony that Fred and George were together when Fred and George could never be together again. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it before.

George pushed Fred higher, and Fred giggled and waved his small fists in the air. George grinned and looked at Harry. He frowned when he met his eyes. "You all right there, Harry? You look like you just ate a bogey flavored Bertie Bott's."

Harry didn't smile. George scratched his head, right above his missing ear. "Come on, mate. You're killing me. Is something wrong? Did I forget something?"

He patted himself down. "Nah, wearing everything. What's going on?"

Fred gave a squeal of delight, and George grinned and grabbed the swing, pulling Fred out and tickling him until he was giggling so hard he started hiccuping.

Harry couldn't say anything. "It's. . . nothing."

"It's nothing, eh?" He sat down on the grass, settling Fred into his lap. "Blimey, Harry, is it the second of May?"

Harry sat down next to him. "Yeah."

"Oh." He paused like he was going to crack a joke, but then he stopped.

They sat quietly for a minute before George stood up, brushed himself off, and said, "Well, I guess we shouldn't think about the past too much, right? Bound to be boring. And you know me and - me and Fred didn't do well on our History of Magic O.W.L.s, so."

He put Fred back into the swing and grinned at Harry. "Life is still good, mate. Really."

Harry couldn't help but notice the emptiness in George's eyes.


	5. Arthur Weasley

When he passed him in the hallway, Arthur Weasley gripped Harry's hand.

"You good there, Harry?"

Harry nodded. He didn't return the question because he couldn't bring himself to speak.


	6. Neville Longbottom

Neville was in the kitchen when Harry went to get a glass of water. Mrs. Weasley was not.

"Neville? What are you doing here?"

He drained the cup he was holding before saying, "Came over for dinner, just getting some pumpkin juice. Mrs. Weasley invited me and Hannah."

A small smile played on his lips when he said Hannah's name. He and Hannah had recently gotten engaged. They defended arguments about being too young by way of the years of youth they had lost under Voldemort's reign.

"Haven't seen you in a while, anyway, mate," Neville said, putting his empty cup into the sink and walking across the kitchen to pull Harry into a hug. Harry obliged stiffly. "You all right?"

"Yeah." He went to the cupboard and pulled a glass out, aware of Neville's eyes on his back.

"It's been. . . it's been rough day, right?"

"You could say that."

"Yeah. I still. . . I still dream about it."

Harry filled his glass with tap water and turned to look at Neville, who was avoiding his eyes. "Yeah."

"Every night," Neville added, his voice quieter. "I close my eyes at night and. . . they're there."

"Yeah."

"Guess it's an after-effect?" Neville met Harry's eyes almost bravely, shrugging, and Harry shrugged, too.

"Neville? Where'd you disappear to?"

Hannah was calling from what sounded like the living room, and Neville gave a sheepish grin. "I guess I'd better go see what she wants."

He hesitated before he left, and Harry spilled his water into the sink.

He wasn't thirsty anymore.


	7. Dinner

No one talked during dinner.

The only sound was the scraping of utensils on plates and baby Fred's occasional babbling, Angelina and George caring for him quietly as they joined everyone else in remembering the dead.

Harry briefly thought of the fact that most of the wizarding world was celebrating today as the day he had saved them from Voldemort.

He couldn't think of it for long.


	8. Andromeda Tonks

Andromeda Tonks came over as they were finishing dinner, little Teddy with her.

Teddy, who had just turned three, had a lot to say. Most of the time, he was received very well, but today, Luna was the only one who managed to pay him attention. She lifted him onto her lap and listened to him talk while his grandmother sat slumped at the table across from him, Mrs. Weasley rubbing her back, the rest of the males present hurriedly excusing themselves from the table.

Andromeda looked up as Harry was leaving, and it struck him once again how much she looked like her sister. He wasn't sure what he should do, so he gave her a small smile and immediately felt bad about it. It was the anniversary of her daughter's death. She didn't want to see him smile.

He was surprised when she smiled back, a brief, sincere smile that looked terribly out of place on her face.

Unsure of what he should do next, not comfortable with breaking the silence that surrounded Teddy's excited speech, Harry rubbed the back of his neck and inclined his head to the door, realizing how lucky he was that Ron wasn't there to make fun of him later.

He wasn't sure Ron would even have the heart to do that.

Andromeda nodded but didn't break eye contact, and feeling quite awkward, Harry said, "Er, well, it was nice to see you, Andromeda."

He wanted to slap himself. He supposed Ginny would do that for him later.

"It was nice to see you, too, Harry," she said quietly.


	9. Angelina Johnson

He passed by baby Fred's bedroom on his way to his room. The Burrow was very full lately, and George and Angelina were staying there for a bit.

The door was open a crack, and Angelina was talking to Fred loud enough for Harry to hear.

"He was very brave, you know. He died fighting in a war to keep all of us safe."

Fred made an inarticulate baby sound, and there was quiet for a moment before Angelina continued. "He was your dad's twin brother. They did everything together. When he first died. . . ." Her voice broke, and she took a shaky breath. Harry wondered if he should go. "When he first died, your dad told me that he couldn't sleep at night. He moved into your uncle Ron's room because he couldn't stand to be alone for so long."

It sounded like she was blowing her nose. The backs of Harry's eyes were pricking. "And then there was Professor Lupin, Fred. You'll never meet him, but he was so brave. He was Teddy's dad. And Lavender - " - her voice wobbled - " - she wasn't in my year at Hogwarts, but she was a Gryffindor, and she fought bravely. Her dormitory was across the hall from mine. She was only seventeen."

She sighed. "I love you, Fred."

Harry was crying when he left.


	10. Together

Hermione and Ginny were talking quietly in the living room when Harry walked in later. Hermione stood up when she saw him. "I should. . . I should go."

"No."

She looked at him, her eyes questioning.

"Stay," Harry said. "Please."

The three of them sat together in silence. Ron and Luna joined at some point, but they didn't talk.

There was nothing to say.


	11. Alone

Harry went to bed early because he couldn't stand to be awake, but as soon as he closed his eyes he wished he hadn't.

He couldn't stand to be alone.

He couldn't stand that there was no one with him but the ghosts of everyone who had died.

It took him until the sun began to rise to fall asleep.


End file.
